Continuation
by Homefry Kid
Summary: Post-Chosen. The three people closest to the Scoobies are resurrected as a gift from the gods. Season 8 ensues.


Title: Continuation

Summary: Just read the story, damnit!

Disclaimer: None of it is mine, sadly. Oh, except for Siri. He's so cool, man.

Pairings: Read the story. D'uh.

And, here we go.

A lone figure jogged swiftly through one of Cleveland's many cemertaries, paying no attention to the fog of night blanketing her. The sound of crunching leaves immediately caught her attention, and she swivelled around, her dark eyes scanning the premises instinctively. With a smirk, she finally caught her prey: a stout, male member of the undead with his "vamped out" face on.  
  
"Game time," Kennedy whispered to the air, a stake clutched tightly at her side.  
  
"No, no, I'm not saying that Storm isn't hot. She's just not as hot as Catwoman." Xander Harris rationalized, digging further into his box of greasy chip wagon fries.  
  
Andrew Wells' face was set with a look that might have suggested his friend be best off in a mental institution. "You're crazy. Willow, tell him he's crazy. Storm is obviously superior, right?" A look of panic erupted in his shining green eyes.  
  
"You guys are both wrong, and right, at the same time." Willow's face was littered with confusion. "And that's pretty, well, nutty. But, please, let me explain." Here she paused dramatically, allowing herself to steal a fry from Xander. Still chewing, she continued. "They're BOTH hot. Kooky notion, but actually true, and-"  
  
"Hey guys, watcha doin'?" Buffy interrupted, coming from out of nowhere to face her three nerdy friends, who looked nothing short of sheepish.  
  
"Nothing!" Willow responded hastily, earning a chuckle from her Slayer friend. "What? Okay, so not nothing. But not far from it, I say." She then folded her arms across her chest and glanced around the group with a smug smile.  
  
"Hey . . . watcha so happy about?" Kennedy's voice came from behind Willow, who forced a smile as she was kissed on the cheek. Turning to Buffy, the brunette put a more businesslike voice on. "Nice enough graveyard. Anything seem... out of place to you?"  
  
"Other than the fact that it's not the sleepy little place I'm used to? No. In fact, it seems almost too normal."  
  
And she was right. The grass they stood on was neatly trimmed and basked in a warm glow by the numerous street lamps surrounding the cemetery. Cars were constantly humming from George Street nearby, and the sound of pedestrians could be heard from that general direction as well. Even the trees did little to contribute to the spooky atmosphere. It was certainly not the place where you'd expect to find...  
  
"Vampire!" Andrew practically screamed, causing Buffy to wheel around and deliver a sharp punch to the creature in question's nose. The male backed up and brought his hand to its snout, smirking as he reached out to grab the Slayer. This was countered by a knee to the groin and another punch, followed by a roundhouse. Having no time to get in a shot of his own, the vamp looked down in horror just in time to see a stake being driven into him. Dust was all that was left a second later.  
  
"Well," Buffy panted, "that was fun."  
  
However, unknown to our five heroes, they were being watched. Just behind the bushes lurked a stout, veiny creature, with an oversized oblong for a nose. The fangs were obvious even before it grinned, but, upon this, they appeared to be dripping with a thick, yellowish liquid that it self- consciously tried to lick off.  
  
"I just don't get it!"  
  
"Yes, well, see... hmm, I never was any good at Algebra myself." Giles responded apologetically, taking a sip of his drink before spitting it out at peering at Dawn with a grimace. "What is this?"  
  
Glaring at her "father", Dawn closed her textbook with a satisfying snap! and turned to face him."I'm not talking about math, which is one thing I most decidedly do not care about." This caused the other to frown at her, but the gesture went unnoticed. "Why is it that Andrew can go off patrolling and I can't? I mean, I'm 17 now. I've already proven that I can fight. So why am I stuck here doing homework?"  
  
"I think," Giles said very clearly, "that your sister would much rather prefer you doing your work than fighting right now. Especially on a Sunday night."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm tired of what she thinks! It's like she won't let me grow up. She's been like this ever since Mom-"  
  
The room was suddenly dead silent. Dawn, who had gotten up and been pacing, seemed rooted to the ground, as if her own words had caused her to become ice. Smilingly sadly, Giles rose up from the sagging couch, and Dawn seized this opportunity to throw her arms around him, and...  
  
"Dawnster! Tweed Man! We're home!" Xander exclaimed. His face was lit up with joy. Behind him, Willow peeked at the two in the living room as Dawn hastily pulled away from the hug.  
  
"You didn't steal my math partner, Giles, did you?" She said mock- accusingly, racing down the hallway and flopping beside the Brit on the couch.  
  
The teenager seized this moment to begin giggling a little too cheerfully. "Relax, Will. He doesn't even know what Geometry means."  
  
"Yes, well, where are Buffy and Kennedy?" Giles said awkwardly, glaring good-naturedly at the youngest member of the group.  
  
The only one to notice Willow wince at the last name was Xander, but he let it slip and instead leaned back in his chair with a sigh.  
  
"Oh, they're... still doing the slaying thing." The redhead replied, her demeanor tenser now. Finally, Xander made a mental note to discuss this with her if it continued. "And good ol' Andy's back at your place, right Xand?"  
  
He simply nodded, lost in thought but brightening a bit at the thought of his goofy roommate. For a while, none of them talked, simply content to follow their private trains of thought. All four looked somewhat depressed. Eventually, though, Giles got up again and turned to his friends.  
  
"Well, I must go, many meetings tomorrow, what with planning the, er... construction of our new Training School and all." All three nodded absently, and he headed out the door.  
  
"I'm going to bed." Dawn said, getting up as well and stretching as if to work out the kinks in her back.  
  
"Do that homework, Dawnie." Willow called out, still considerably lost.  
  
"I did." Came the lie, as Dawn stomped up the sawdust-covered staircase. Ensues  
Xander exhaled softly, and was just about to close his eyes when he spotted a movement from his best friend.  
  
"We need to talk, buster."  
  
"Oh Bob, I love you so dearly."  
  
"Oh Martha!"  
  
"Oh Bob!"  
  
"No, don't fall for him, you bloody git. He's out to get you!" An English voice sounded as he sat, cross-legged, on a bed covered in floral sheets. The TV, which had his rapt attention, was soon flicked off as the impact of his words set in. "Stupid soaps." He grumbled darkly.  
  
"Oh, so is that what held your attention so well? Nighttime soap operas?" a female quipped from the doorway.  
  
At this, Spike immediately leaped up as his composure softened. "Buffy..."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were back?" She immediately cut him off angrily. "Did you even think for one second about my feelings? A-About what I went through? All summer long, thinking you were gone?"  
  
"How did you-"  
  
"The door was open." Came the icy reply. "But I don't see why, because you obviously didn't want to be bothered. How long have you been here?"  
  
"Well, I-" He sighed, lowering his voice. "Few days."  
  
"A few days?" Buffy erupted, tears in her eyes. She turned to the ajar door. "Kennedy, go meet up with Faith in the park. I'll be there in a bit."  
  
"Right." The brunette retorted, and ran away so fast it was as though she was frightened.  
  
"So," she began carefully, as she padded into the room, "nice motel room."  
  
Spike shrugged, glacing around what he considered a closet. "Yeah, really nice drapes. Keep the light out." He chuckled bitterly, but Buffy obviously didn't get the humour.  
  
"Why didn't you call?"  
  
"Well-"  
  
"I mean, did you ever think about how bad I felt when you didn't believe that I loved you, which was the last thing I said to you?" Her voice was shaking now, her face etched with grief.  
  
"Pet..." Even softer this time, "You only said it because I was dying."  
  
"But I meant it! I still do."  
  
"How can you?"  
  
An awkward silence followed, in which Spike sat back down on the hard motel bed. His eyes were searching, but Buffy left before he could find anything. Like thunder, the door clanged shut behind her, and he winced.  
  
Xander's face shot up and hardened upon impact. "Did Kennedy hurt you, is that what this is about?"  
  
"What? No! It's not even about her, it's about..." the redhead paused in deep thought, "her."  
  
"Oh." He didn't have to be a genius to know who Willow was talking about. Quickly, he moved over to the couch and pulled his friend into a bear-hug. "I miss them too, Will."  
  
By now, tears were forming in those green suns. "It's... so... hard." She managed, looking over at Xander with a pained expression on her pale face. "Every day, I think about her. She's always there, Xand. And then there's the almost-destroying of the world and Kennedy and trying to be happy and all... well, I sorta feel like I've betrayed her."  
  
"Oookay. First of all, if I know Tara, she'd want you to be happy." He paused, the upbeat tone failing to linger. "But I know what you mean. Especially as of lately. It really seems that An-... it really seems like she's here with me."  
  
Willow inclined her head slowly and deliberately. "Yeah, more of the same here. I keep thinking, what if I had been on the other side of her? Or what if I hadn't woken her up? S-she'd still be here." Little droplets of water were now making their journey down her cheeks, as the witch clung to Xander with every ounce of her strength.  
  
"I know," he breathed. "But they're gone, Will. You can't go back in time and bring them back. You just can't."  
  
"Will it ever stop hurting?"  
  
Tears trickled down the young man's face. "I don't know. But I'm here, no matter what. We'll take care of each other, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Promise?"  
  
"Promise."  
  
And the two friends just sat there, in the midst of calm, clinging to each other as if afraid that they would somehow be seperated.  
  
"What's up, kid? You're not yourself today." Faith commented, a concerned frown on her face turning to realization. "It's Red, ain't it?"  
  
Kennedy merely sighed, taking a swig from her water bottle. The two had left their patrolling duty long ago, chortling over how Buffy would react to their absence. They had since been sparring in the new "Slayer's Academy", which was being fixed up by the Scoobies and awaiting a Grand Opening. Littered with sawdust, the whole place was less than half-done, but nevertheless a safe haven for the Slayers. Security guards lined the perimeter, but by now, they had drifted off to deep slumber. This, however, didn't worry the two companions, as they were tougher than the guards anyway.  
  
The spar session hadn't been going well. Kennedy had clearly been out of it and had taken a beating; her own attacks on Faith were easily deflected, which was odd considering how aggresive the first Slayer was. Faith kneeled down on the parquet floor beside her friend.  
  
"Okay, what's going on?"  
  
"I wish I knew." The brunette said around her drink. "Willow's been acting strange all day. Damn chick even kicked me out." She backtracked at Faith's raised eyebrow. "Well, more like I kicked myself out. She just needs some space, I guess."  
  
At that exact moment, the door flew open, and Buffy entered with the creature who had been stalking them earlier trailing guiltily behind.  
  
"B? How did-"  
  
"Look what I found." The blonde said, pushing her discovery onto the faded wood of the floor. "Talk."  
  
The two others stared down in disbelief at the demon before them as the same yellow liquid trickled from its fangs. Its red eyes pleaded silently with them, yellow forming in both as well. "Please miss, let Siri go, he didn't mean any harm. It was Garth, miss, he told Siri to do this, yes, Garth did-"  
  
"Garth?" Kennedy cocked an eyebrow, her moody state now gone. "As in the guy from Wayne's World?" She peered around at her puzzled companions and quickly changed the subject. "Um, so, maggot. Who is this 'Garth' guy?"  
  
"Garth is our leader, miss, yes he is. Siri only wanted to fit in, miss, really, he didn't mean any harm, please let me go-"  
  
Buffy only rolled her eyes. "All right, time to fight baddies again. It just never ends. Where is this oh-so-powerful-one, exactly?"  
  
Hands made their way through unkempt blond hair as a boyish hand reached towards the doorbell. Andrew winced at the painfully loud ding- dong, but made no attempt to run and hide like he had planned. Instead, he waited patiently, shifting his weight from one velco-shoe-clad foot to the other, until the door was finally opened and Giles stood in front of him.  
  
"Andrew?" The concerned British voice rang through the tacky hallway.  
  
"Sorry that it's late, Mr. Giles, it's just-"  
  
"No no, please, come in."  
  
Andrew made his way into the dimly-lit apartment and maveled at the cream-coloured walls and nicely modest furniture. "Wow, looks like somewhere Captain Picard would live," he said while taking off his muddy shoes.  
  
"Yes, I suppose it is quite nice." The older man smiled gently, motioning the geek into his living room. "W-what brings you here?"  
"Well," Andrew began, flopping down on the stiff old couch, "I've been feeling kinda guilty, Mr. Giles. "About Anya and all."  
  
"Andrew," he began, suddenly tired, "you know it wasn't your fault."  
  
"I know. Well, sort of. It's just that Xander - who is the coolest roommate ever, and makes the best pancakes - won't even play Xbox with me lately. Sure, we talk, but even that's rare. I keep thinking that if I died instead of Anya, the world would be a better place."  
  
Giles' tone harshened. "Don't even think that! Anya was a good person, and yes, her death was very tragic, but what's done is done. I thoroughly believe that everything happens for a reason. The best thing you can do is to just be there for Xander. I can tell he appreciates it."  
  
"But I don't fit in." The nerd's voice was shaky now. "I never can. The only reason I'm here is because I was held hostage for what I did - who I associated with. And it hurts me everyday thinking about what War- what he did. Willow is sad too, I know it, and it's all my fault. I could have stopped him, but I didn't, and now her girlfriend's gone and it's all my fault."  
  
A hand came to rest Andrew's shoulder. "Andrew... the guilt you feel is proof that you are a good man. It's all in your past. The people that fell can never be replaced, but you had nothing to do with their death."  
  
"I still don't fit in." He sniffled.  
  
"You do. You're our friend, Andrew, and our ally. We all fought the First together, even you." There was a short pause where Giles regarded him with a great deal of sadness. "Now go home and get some rest. We can talk more in the morning, if you like."  
  
The boy gave him a look which thanked him for all that he had done, but just in case he didn't catch on, Andrew said it. "Thanks, Mr. Giles. For everything."  
  
But the Watcher only smiled as he watched the blond clumsily drag his feet to the door. For a long time, the man was silent. Then he exhaled deeply and made his way to the apartment's only bedroom.  
  
The cave was eerily lit with a variety of fat white candles lying on the dirt ground, and their patterns danced across moist, moss-covered walls. In the middle of the floor was what Kennedy thought (with a smirk) to be an Anarchy sign, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an arrow surrounded by an oval. Around this, three bodies were scattered; two vampires and one blueish creature with ram-like horns.  
  
"Ooh, miss, miss!" Siri exclaimed, pointing to the latter. "That's Garth, miss, yes, he told Siri to do this."  
  
But before anyone could respond, half a dozen teenagers girls emerged from around a corner, giggling at some inside joke. The tallest had short, spiky purplish hair and a nose-ring, and wore a black tee and baggy jeans. Spiky bracelets adorned her wrists, which Faith glared at. Another brainless teenager following a stupid fad.  
  
"Hey, you!" Buffy called to them. "Know anything about these... things?"  
  
"Yeah, we killed them. Got a problem with that?" Purple Hair challenged her, a glare chiseling her otherwise pretty face. The other girls in the group exchanged excited whispers which were probably something along the lines of, "That's the first Slayer!", but Buffy chose to ignore them.  
  
"So you're-"  
  
"Slayers? Yeah. You're Buffy, right? Think you're so tough? From what I hear, you're the original, and you have quite an ego." Faith smirked at this remark, but Buffy shot her a look before she could say anything. Word must have traveled fast through the group of recently-immigrated Slayers at their makeshift training centres all across Cleveland.  
  
Buffy simply chose to not acknowledge this comment either. "How did you hear about this cave? Was a beastie with run-on sentences stalking you, like say, I dunno, this guy?" Once again, she pushed Siri onto the cold ground, who emitted a small whimper but said nothing more.  
  
Purple Hair shot him a look of disgust. "No. Some vamp." She turned to her five buddies. "I think his name was Wayne?"  
  
"Oh, ya gotta be kidding me." Kennedy groaned. "He didn't just so happen to be a metalhead loser with an Asian girlfriend, did he?" She retreated, though, when the rest looked at her as if she had gone off the deep end.  
  
"Well, he was cute," a redhead offered gingerly, to which she recieved three simultaneous eye-rolls.  
  
"Hey, B. They stole our kill. Think we should teach them a lesson?" Faith muttered just loudly enough for the whole room to hear, trying not to smirk at the looks of horror she received.  
  
"Nah. Let's let them off with a warning." The senior Slayer grinned. "I'm going home."  
  
"And the little veiny dude?" Kennedy questioned, gesturing to Siri. "Can I kill him? I've only killed one thing all night," she pouted.  
  
"Something about him doesn't seem evil." Buffy said, looking at him curiously. "He's actually sorta cute. Let's take him to the Academy. Who knows, he could be of use." She bent over and took hold of his three- fingered hand, pulling the little demon to his feet. "Come on. Let's go. I can't miss Saturday Night Live this time."  
  
Ding-dong.  
  
Willow yawned as she trudged slowly down the staircase of the home she shared with Buffy, Dawn, Kennedy, and Miss Kitty Fantastico. The latter bounded down with her owner, wanting food, but suddenly rushed to the door as if sensing her other owner coming home. It was shortly after noon now, and the redhead was dressed in her favourite - and dorkiest - fuzzy pink pajamas. A set of impatient meows from her cat deeply worried her.  
  
"Whoa, Missy, calm down. The way you're acting, you'd think-"  
  
She stopped, mid-sentence, as the door was opened and a familiar pair of blue eyes greeted her.  
  
"Hi, W-Willow." Tara said.


End file.
